As promotion's coordinator of a science museum who was sometimes invited to meetings with its ad agency, and later, as the brand-new marketing director of a chain of banks, I was wowed—and a bit spoiled—by the expensive "all-the-bells-and-whistles" campaign presentations that my employers had come to expect from the big marketing firms they worked with.

But after less than a year at the bank, I began to wonder if the money spent on its agency's elaborate presentations might not be better spent elsewhere.

Soon, I had the chance to find out: out of the blue, the bank slashed its marketing budget by 53%.

If necessity is the Mother of Invention, then a budget cut must be Invention's Crazy Cousin Twice Removed: once he shows up on your doorstep, all bets are off. Suddenly, I had less than half the money I'd had before, and the mandate--clear although unspoken--to produce the same results I had before.

After analyzing the problem, the solution was clear: the most effective way I could cut costs was to take control of the creative process and streamline it. And so I did. I insisted on being part of the usual agency-staff-only brainstorming sessions that put the creative process in motion in an advertising agency. Rather than trucking in agency people for lengthy meetings, I directed the bank's out-of-state agency to conduct most meetings via phone. The days of the elaborate presentation were over, too: I asked the agency to send proposed campaigns via email, and to snail mail me select mockups--not full-blown mocks of every campaign component that my employer was used to seeing. And, while I gladly paid the agency for their brainstorming sessions and execution of select campaign components, I used veteran freelancers to execute much of the work for a much lower price.

In short, I cut out anything that wasn't absolutely necessary and discovered--to my surprise--that if anything, the work actually improved. My new "no-frills" manifesto had forced us all to narrow our focus the best marketing choices available. We weren't wasting time on "what-if" and "wouldn't it be nice" anymore. We were on a mission: to produce extremely creative advertising that built the bank's business without--forgive me--breaking the bank.

So, I decided to take all I'd learned, gather together a network of advertising/marketing professionals, and form my own company. I named it CUBE because I loved opening the big square boxes full of mockups that the bank's agency sent, at my request, in lieu of making full-blown presentations. (It was like Christmas!)

I also chose CUBE because we offer "packages" of related marketing products that clients can mix and match to suit their marketing needs.
Those packages were inspired by my hero, Bob Hasty, who also happens to be my dad. He's a successful businessman who's always fought for the little guy. In the world of marketing, "little guys" are those small to mid-sized businesses that know they should market, but can't afford big agencies and lack the experience to do it themselves. And quite honestly, they may not need a huge campaign to market effectively: a few products that coordinate and convey their message may be all it takes.

I hope you'll consider becoming my client.
Whether you choose one CUBE, have us "stack" several to create a campaign, or want something completely different, we'd love to design a campaign that will build your business. I look forward to hearing from you.

Amy Hasty Miller
Owner